1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a palm-sized mobile information terminal, which comprises a display device, and an art related thereto.
2. Description of the Related Art
As electronic-communications technology advances in recent years, small-sized, lightweight, and thin-sized display devices (for example, LCD, organic electro-luminescence, electronic paper, etc.) have spread out widely, and palm-sized mobile information terminals (for example, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a cellular phone, etc.) with these display devices have been used practically.
It is presupposed that this kind of mobile information terminal is operated as follows. In short, the user grasps and holds the mobile information terminal by one hand, and inputs necessary information into the mobile information terminal by the other hand with a key operation and a tapping operation with a pen or a finger.
However, there is a strong request to operate the mobile information terminal by only one hand rather than to operate the mobile information terminal by both hands.
As for this point, the mobile information terminal with which the device for raising the operability by one hand has been proposed and disclosed in published Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-215291(a patent reference 1). However, even the mobile information terminal, a user still always needs to keep grasping the mobile information terminal in order not to drop it. Therefore, it is hard to say that users can easily hold the mobile information terminal.
The following prior art is disclosed in published Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-78829 (a patent reference 2). An ear part having a hole that the user can let his/her thumb go through is provided on the left side of the mobile information terminal. When the ear part is not used, the ear part can be stored inside of the mobile information terminal.
However, even with this structure, the side of a hand whose thumb is passed through the hole can only grasp the mobile information terminal. In short, it is impossible to operate the key set arranged on the surface of the mobile information terminal with a finger of the side of the hand.
Therefore, even with the prior art of the patent reference 2, it is necessary for users to operate the mobile information terminal with the other side of the hand, not with the side of the hand whose thumb is passed through the hole. As a result, it cannot be said that the prior art of the patent reference 2 is excellent in the operability in one hand.